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HES (Hydraulic Expansion Slitter)

Quick Tool Change & Utmost Accurate Slitter

Why does HES have advantage for you ?

Traditional tool setting

Traditionally, tools are set up by many spacers between two blades to make up the required width. Thin shims or paper are also inserted between spacers for precise settings. Rubber rings are placed between blades to eliminate strip from curling at the blades. Spacers, blades and rubber rings are inserted from one end of the arbor.

In general, tools are set outside of line to reduce down time by removing slitter stand outside of line. In some cases, special loader is used to set tools without removing slitter outside of the line. Tool setting is a hard labour because tools are not light. Moreover, tool setting requires precise attention and skill to keep accurate slitting of the width and appropriate clearance. Therefore, special skilled workers are indispensable.

The tools setting with HES

HES was developed for easy and accurate tool setting. HES does not need any spacers. A blade and two rubber rings are held on a special tool holder. The arbor's diameter expands by hydraulic pressure to secure the holders in place on the arbor. When additional rubber rings are needed, special slitted type, easy to put on rubber ring can be placed on the arbor by twisting it by hand and locking by one-touch-clamp. Since the number of slitting changes between coils which requires blades change, enough tools for normal production are always mounted on the arbor and tools not in use for this instance are placed outside of the cutting area of the arbors.

The slitting width and the number of slitting are defined by upper management computing system or manual input by the work order sheet via operator. In HES system, the aforesaid set up information can be transmitted or input by operator to a special servo controlled pointer, which is used to show the operator physically where to place the blades on the arbor.

The operator rotates and slides blades and places the blades by lightly touching them on this automatic pointer. By this procedure, tools are set in the precise position on the arbor without any harder labour. This procedure needs some skill, but operators can study it with only several hours training.

In HES system, there is no danger of backache because operators don't have heavy tools lifting. Only slide them on the arbors. The special pointer eliminates tool setting mistakes that happen often in traditional tool setting. Also, keeping accurate clearance is much easier than traditional setting because there is no error generated by the accumulation of thickness error of spacers which is inevitable in traditional slitter.

HES system was developed 30 years ago by TOKEN and more than 70 sets are working in Japan today. One good example HES, high accuracy slitting is manufacturing seat belt buckle. In general, grinding is necessary after slitting because of the high accuracy requirements the buckle needs. The required buckle accuracy was achieved by using only the HES slitter which made grinding procedure unnecessary.

Advantages

HES offers a number of advantages. The principal ones are listed below.